Central Coast Mariners defeated Perth Glory 2-0 at home on Thursday to climb into the top six in the A-League.

Joseph Mills had to clear a Connor Pain effort off the line approaching the half-hour mark of the contest in Gosford.

From the subsequent corner, Harry Ascroft was left with too much space and duly tucked home from close range to earn the Mariners the lead on his first start of the season.

The hosts made the result safe in the 63rd minute, when Nick Montgomery found Roy O’Donovan in space between the centre-backs at the top of the penalty area, the striker able to turn and slide a simple finish past former Central Coast goalkeeper Liam Reddy.

Pain could have made it 3-0 with a fierce strike that cannoned off the bar late on and the visitors proved unable to force a way back into the contest, leaving Perth two points ahead of the Mariners in fourth spot.